Oh Beautiful Youth
by PacManGoStinky
Summary: Regina has always been locked away in her home by her mother. Once her mother let's her leave the house, she meets Emma Swan, who introduces her to her friends, and takes her on adventures. The question remains, what happens when Regina's mother finds out, and why is Regina so attached to Emma?
1. Chapter 1

-Age 16-

It was raining, and Regina always found that calming. She sat on her window's ledge, as she watched the drops race down the window, betting on which drop would reach the bottom first.

Oh how she dreamed, to go out in the rain again.

She was trapped, never allowed out of the prison her mother called a home. Father had tried to reason with her, but with all that had happened, even father couldn't calm her rage.

Was what she felt her fault? Did the feelings that had stirred up in her long ago cause all of this pain, and regret? No, she had only meant not to hurt Emma.

-six years ago-

"I won't stray far mother, I'll stay on the street, you have my word, if only you would let me go outside!" Regina begged, tears streaming in her eyes. Oh how she wished she could go outside! Everyday, she watched the other boys and girls playing outside. Pretending they were pirates and miscreants, or playing soccer. Regina didn't care what she did, for as long as she was able to go outside, to feel the sunlight on her skin, and smell of fresh air, feel it trapped deep within her lungs, she would do anything.

"Absolutely not. All you're going to do is get hurt, scrap your knees, get dust in your eyes, break your bones! Why won't you see it is I that knows best." Her mother hadn't even looked her way, not a flicker in her gaze from her book towards Regina. Her father was sitting beside her mother, reading the newspaper, but obviously paying more attention to the conversation than her mother.

"That's okay! That's why you have magic, you can fix me you can-"

"Dearest, why not let her go outside? All she does is ask and ask, and you know it would just be easier. Just let her play in the backyard, have the servants watch over her so she doesn't get hurt. I assure you she shall be well tend-"

"That isn't the point!" Her mother sighed, finally closing the book, almost half of her attention finally made it to Regina's face. " Regina you have studies to do, there isn't time to play outside. Have you even finished those books I've given you?"

"Yes," Regina groaned ,"And I'm bored. Let me play outside until tomorrow, then I shall stay inside and continue my studies. Don't you have to see Rumple to get the new set of books anyways?"

"She has a point dear", her father added, his sight not once leaving the paper now.

Her mother sighed again, this time putting her palms to her face. She took a long moment before responding. Saying a sentence that Regina would not soon forget.

"Fine. For today only, until I retrieve your books. When I call you, you shall be inside, and you mustn't leave the backyard. these are my conditions. Do you understand?"

Regina ran to hug her mother's legs, squirming with excitement. "Yes mother! I understand! May I go now?"

With a lazy flick of her hand, she picked up her book, and waved Regina off.

She ran toward the back door, and flung the doors open so hard, she swore she felt the house shake. She grabbed her coat and scarf, nearly forgetting to grab her shoes, and closing the door slightly more gentle behind her, she ventured off into the wonders of her backyard.

Regina had never been farther than her backyard, and that was okay. Her world was so small and fragile, this was enough for her now. Tall oak trees decorated the enormous yard, autumn leaves decorated the ground in neat small piles. Regina raced through the leaves and giggled as they would flew up into the sky and float daintily back towards the ground. She found an old branch, and ran along side the tall brown fence, pressing the stick into the wood to make a satisfying clicking sound. This was her own, personal world, where anything she wanted to happen, would happen. She fell down on her back, her chest heaving with utter joy, she thought she may burst. Her blue coat and black scarf nestled into herself, feeling the effects of gravity. Nothing could possibly make this day better. What would she do with this new found freedom? Shall she summon one of the servants to fetch her some tea, and have a tea party in the leaves? or make a fort with the sticks laying around the ground near the shed?

"What are you doing?"

Regina froze. Did she hear something? No, it had to be her imagination.

The voice came again.

"Hey! Up here!"

Regina got up from the leaves and looked to the fence. A little blonde girl was looking over with piercing green eyes. A small smile was on her face along with, though half covered by the fence. Her skin was fair and cheeks rosy.

"Who are you?" Regina questioned in a strong yet firm voice. Her mother had taught her how to properly speak to people. Loud but clear, with a sort of command to her voice, so everyone would know what she wanted.

"I'm Emma. I haven't seen you outside a lot, did you just move here?" Emma laid her chin against the edge of the fence, her eyes not moving from Regina's.

"No. I've been here my whole life. Mother doesn't like me leaving the house much though."

"Why?"

"Because she wants me to study, and she doesn't want me to hurt myself."

"But you can hurt yourself on books!"

Regina made a sour face. "How can you hurt yourself on a book?"

"Well, you can get a paper cut. See! I got one!" Emma held up her bandaged pointer finger, " and sometimes, if you read too much, your head hurts a lot."

"Yeah, that's true. But being outside you can break your bones, and scrape your knees!"

"But if you're having fun, its okay. When you get hurt, you get better later, right?"

Regina had thought about that, but her mother had never agreed. There was a silence between the two, the leaves rolled by, and Emma's hair blew in her face. She swatted the long curls until they were no longer in her face, but tucked behind her ears.

"So um… do you wanna play?"

Regina was stunned. No one had ever asked her to play.

"I… I can't."

"Why not? I saw you playing in the leaves"

"Mother says I can't leave the yard."

"Can I come over to play than?"

A huge grin came over her face. "Sure! But how will you get back over the fence?"

"Don't worry! I can get over the fence just fine!"

Emma hopped over the fence, her green coat caught a plank of wood, and tore on the way down. He feet slammed to the ground, her eyes wide with terror.

"Oh no! My jacket! My jacket! Oh no!"

Emma took off her jacket and examined the rip.

"My mom is going to be mad."

Emma's eyes welled with tears, her bottom lip trembled.

Luckily, Regina was there to the rescue.

"Can I see your jacket?"

Emma nodded sadly, as Regina took the jacket. She placed the jacket on the ground, took a deep breath, and waved her hand over the jacket. A blue glow came over the rip, and the jacket began to repair itself. The cloth mended, and the stitches went back into their rightful place. Regina smiled at her work, and held up the jacket to Emma.

"I fixed it!"

Emma stared at Regina, her jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Wow! That's amazing! you can do magic?! Wow wow wow! Thank you so much Regina!"

Emma threw herself at Regina into a hug. Regina had never hugged anyone but her father before, and she didn't mind that Emma was hugging her at all. Emma drew back, a giant smile on her face as she put on the coat.

"It feels like it fits better than before! You're so cool Regina!"

"Thank you Emma! Do you wanna play now?"

"Yes! Do you wanna play tag?"

Regina stopped, the smile left her face." How do you play?"

Emma laughed, "Come on. I'll teach you. I'll be it. Since I'm it, you have to run away! If I touch you, you're it and you have to touch me! Get it?"

Regina nodded shyly, "Okay!" And started to run.

They must have played tag for hours, never knowing what the word tiered was. Soon Emma taught her how to play hide-and-go-seek, and it seemed for the longest time that the sun would never go down.

"EMMA! DINNER!"

Emma stopped in her tracks, and Regina ran straight into her, clunking heads.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Regina held her head, as did Emma. When Emma saw the small tears welling in Regina's eyes, she stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry Regina are you okay?! I hope I didn't make you cry! I'm so sorry!"

Then Emma did something that shocked them both.

Emma moved Regina's hands from her head, and gently kissed her forehead.

"My mom says kisses help heal boo boo's. Do you feel any better?"

Regina sat there, wide eyed.

"Yeah, that helped. Thank you!"

Emma smiled brightly. "Well, I got to go. Let's play again sometime okay?"

"Okay! Goodbye Emma!"

Emma gave her a quick hug, and made her way over the fence.

Regina wondered if she'd ever see her friend Emma again.


	2. Chapter 2

*Thank you all for appreciating my story! I'll be submitting it in nanowrimo, so please excuse any terrible writing, or failure to edit. *

Chapter 2

Regina had a friend.

This was a living breathing friend, who wasn't a stuffed animal, or make believe. Emma was little girl, just like herself, who played outside with her, and wasn't scared that she knew how to use magic. That was all she had ever wanted.

So when her mother came back with book from Rumple, She dove into her book immediately.

Regina knew that if she wanted to see Emma again, she would have to finish her studies, and give her mother a reason for her to give her another day off. Her mother had given her three books. Those three book were thick with pictures, diagrams and words, but Regina tirelessly read night after night, studying the pictures and words and quickly as possible, trying to soak in as much of the information as she could. Her mother would often come into the room, and force her to sleep, bt she'd wake bright and early in the morning,and continue again. The books, which normally would have taken three weeks to read, only took her one.

once she was finished reading, she skipped to her mother happily. Her mother was making tea in the kitchen. The blue and white china tea pot sat royally on the counter, steeping her mothers fine and expensive tea.

"Mother," Regina cleared her throat. "I'm finished my studies."

Her mother stopped, a puzzled look on her face. "When did I get you those books?"

"A week ago" Regina answered honestly, grinding her teeth impatiently.

"And you've finished them already?"

"Yes mother."

Regina's mother summoned a cup and set it on the grey counter top. She lifted her royal blue and white tea pot and carefully poured herself a small cup.

Regina could tell she was not convinced.

"Tell me Regina…." her mother started, " Tell me what sort of spells you learned in the books I gave you."

"Mother, the books you gave me weren't about spells this time, but about plants and other sorts of things I would need to make potions.. Well, two of the books were about ingredients for potions, but the last book was about creatures in your world. Elves, fairies, dwarves, giants-"

Regina's mother laughed, and kissed her daughter gently on the forehead, which took her daughter by shock. She rarely showed her such affection.

"You may stop now, I believe you. You must have really enjoyed them. Why, I couldn't get you away from them."

Regina grinned, but her heart was beating frantically and her mouth was dry, she would ask her mother again.

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"May I…" Regina paused, her thoughts racing, she had forgotten what she was going to ask, the nerves had gotten the best of her.

"What is it, I haven't got all day. Spit it out." Her mother snarled. That was what she was used to, her mother's cool harshness, rather than her love.

"May I go outside again? I know you-"

"Of course. Go on."

Regina's eyes grew wide. She did not protest or fight. Her mother was okay with her being outside!

"Thank you." She ran and hugged her legs, and her mother patted her back. Regina rushed towards the yard again, hoping her friend would be in the great outdoors.

Emma looked for her new friend outside every day for a week since she'd last seen her. She waited by the fence in case to hear or playing or something. The only people that were ever in the yard, were the servants. Particularly, a young boy named Graham, who would rake the leaves into a pile, and put them into a bag. Emma would ask him every day, if Regina was going to come outside, but he'd shake his head not, and reply that she had to work on her studies.

"Well why don't you play with me?" Emma whined, Graham only shaking his head. He was an older boy, who obviously didn't like her,

"Because if I did, Cora would have my head. I have no time to play with you Emma"

"How could she know! She is inside all the time, and never comes outside! Just for a little bit?"

Graham chuckled, still raking leaves. "Cora has powerful magic, and can see what I'm doing all the time. She tells me what I can and take do, and I don't want to cross her."

"But what if you did?" Emma questioned, a sly toothy grinned washed over her.

"I don't want to find out what would happen." Graham turned away and continued with her work.

Emma sunk below to her side of the fence. Her new friends always had to work, and had no time to only wished they could play with her more. Emma knew that they had to have time eventually, and they'd surely call her when they did. So young Emma went to find the other neighborhood kids. Perhaps her good friend Belle would be running about trying to find the older boy Rumple. She recalled that if she ever saw Belle, she was with Rumple or she was looking for him. It was the same for when she went to look for the older boy. The two were the best of friends, despite the age difference. There was also Killian, who she'd nicknamed "Hook", because of his fascination with pirates,and sailing. Emma saw her friends almost everyday, which was great since that way she was never alone. Just as she decided to leave the confinements of the back yard, she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She shot across the yard like a bullet, jumping and griping the top of the fence, pulling her upwards so she could sit on the edge. Regina was looking up at her, her short brown hair messy from the wind.

"I was worried you weren't outside today."

Emma laughed, "Well, I was just about to leave to find my friends, but it seems you found me today!"

"It's a good thing, can you come down and play?"

"Regina, why don't you leave the yard today?"

Regina froze, obviously largely conflicted by the sudden request. "But, my mom…"

"Doesn't have to find out! She'll never know. Please come with me Regina, you'll like my friends, they can be your friends too!"

Regina bit her lip. She desperately wanted to go with Emma, but the fear of her mother becoming crossed with her kept her standing by the fence, looking at her shoes.

"Regina, you should go." Graham walked over, a rake in his hand. His tousled hair was long, and swung in front of his hard eyes. "I can take care of your mother, just be back in time for supper."

Regina hesitated, and hugged Graham lightly. "Thank you" He shrugged her hug off, a slight smile on his face. "yeah yeah, just go before she sees I'm letting you go."

"Can you jump the fence?"

Regina examined the tall fence, it was surely too tall for her to try and jump to grab the edge. The front gate was no option, because her mother would surely see her leaving the yard. She would have to find a way to jump the fence.

"come on! get a running start, and I'll help you up!" Emma held out her hand, a determined look crossed her face. Regina sighed, and began to back up. She back up against the nearest tree, which was a good five feet away from the fence.

"Ready?" Emma called out, Regina nodded.

Her shoes slapped the ground, toes pressing hard into the yellowing grass.

"Jump!" and shouted, and she did. Her hand reached out into the air, feeling suspended. When it seemed like she was going to fall flat on her face, Emma snatched her hand, pulling Regina up to the edge of the fence.

"I thought I was going to fall for a second," Regin huffed as she lifted herself over the fence. Emma jumped down to the ground, holding a hand out to Regina.

"If you fall, I fall,okay?"

Regina nodded, grinning.

Emma grabbed her hand, and lead her to towards the front gate of Emma's backyard. Regina watched as she lifted the latch, and the old rustic gate creaked open. The world Emma was going to show her would make it so she would never spend so much time inside ever again. As they took their first steps outside the gate that gate, Emma saw Regina's eye widen as she took in the outside world. Those bright brown eyes took in the tall oak trees losing their yellowing leaves, and the rambunctious children running up and down the dark asphalt.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Never had she ever imagined that she'd meet other kids around her own age, that liked to be around her. Mother had always said the she, Regina, had immense power and because of this power, the famous line of "To love is to destroy" was always played.

She was first introduced to a boy named Hook.

"Well that's certainly an odd name…"

"Nah mate! See I'm going sail the seas! So Hook be my sea name!"

The three of them laughed, carrying on down the street. She saw a girl, with long brown curly hair running away from a slightly older boy with light brown hair that brushed along his jaw bones. She'd never seen to kids together who looked so… happy.

"Hey Belle! Rumple!" Emma called out, the same faint smile lingered on her face even when she wasn't smiling. Rumple stopped dead in his tracks, and Belle smashed right into his back, making the two tumble over on the green lawn. The group of three rushed over to the pair, making sure everyone was alright. When all was said and done, Emma cleared her throat.

"Belle, Rumple… This is Regina. She's uh, new." Emma scratched the back of her head, letting the awkward silence take over. Rumple stayed back, obviously more of the shy type, but something in his eyes told a different story, like he was holding back something.

Belle laughed and took Regina's hand shaking it. "It's nice to meet you! I'm sure we'll all be good friends, right Rumple?" She looked to the shy looking boy, his eyes never leaving Regina's. He took her hand rather stiffly and shook it. "Yes...I'm sure we all will."

"So why don't we play pirates today!" Hook shot up, trying to divert some of the tension away from the two.

What was wrong with this Rumple boy? Had he instantly disliked her the moment he met her. Was it something she had said, or had her heard something? If he wanted to be rude and dislike her to this point, she'd let him. What was this raggy boy to her anyways!

Emma lead the party to her own lawn to play "Pirates" which was Hook's absolute most favourite game. The game was simple enough for Regina to understand. One half were pirates, and the other was the king's navy. Te object of the game was to run a stick across the lawn, into pirates territory, to the other side, without being caught by the pirates. If you were caught, you would have to play a simple game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would win the battle. In this game, Hook, Belle, and Emma were the Navy, and Rumple and Regina were pirates. The game started, and the Navy huddled in a small group. Regina and Rumple stood side by side, saying nothing until finally, Rumple spoke up.

"Listen, here's the plan. Emma is going to rush forward with Hook at the side, while Belle brings the stick up. If one of us can distract Hook and Emma long enough, the other can grab the stick from Belle. I'll distract the two of them, if you get the stick from Belle. Got it?"

Regina nodded fearfully, daring not to question him.. The way Rumple spoke was as if he held no regret or remorse. Wasn't this just a simple game? She wondered how scary Rumple could actually be, and why Belle seemed to be so enthralled with him.

Rumple and Regina lined up side by side and watched as the huddle separated,and took their positions. The game started, with Emma and Hook at the front, Belle lingering behind them, just as Rumple had guessed.

"You guys ready?!" Hook shouted, his feet making tread marks in the grass below him. His black hair waving in the wind slightly. Emma's eyes concentrated on the end line, not wavering once from the objective ahead.

"Yes, now let's get on with it!" Rumple shot back. "Start the count down.

Emma's voice sang through the air,

"Five!... Four!...Three!" She shouted, Regina got into a sprinting position. She would make it seem like she was going to charge ahead with Rumple, and at the last second, she'd switch and take down Belle, grab the stick and head for home.

"Two!...One!"

Emma and Hook took off like a lightning storm, charging the line with Belle following them steadily behind. Rumple stuck his arms out wide and ran in the middle of the two, knocking the wind out of Hook. Rumple charged after Emma next, but she was more flexible than Hook. She bobbed and weaved through Rumples tackles, not once being slightly touched. Regina was closing in on Belle, who had the upper hand. For someone so small, she was quick. Regina would have to think of a new plan, they were too far into pirate territory.

She'd have to play dirty.

They were both running side by side now, Belle weaving to stay out of Regina's reach. Regina cut Belle off in mid run, smashing into Belle from the side, Belle hitting Regina head first. The stick flew to the ground as the two tried to get their boundaries. Regina was the first one to snap back into the game, but where had the stick fallen? Regina turned all about, searching for the stick.

"Behind you!" Rumple shouted. He was trying to detour Emma from reaching the stick, but the blonde was escaping his reach. Regina's eyes locked onto the stick, and she pushed her body towards it, her fingers grasping the end. At the exact moment Regina's fingers got hold of the stick, Emma had sprung at her, her blonde locks floating in the air as she sailed head first to crash into Regina. Emma was pinned her down, trying to rip the stick from Regina's grasp. There was no way she'd let go, Regina thought, she was going to win.

"Rumple! Some help?!" Rumple, who had completely ignored the game now, was tending to Belle, who repeatedly giggled that she was fine. Hook too had apparently lost interest in the game, and was staring at the clouds overhead.

"No one's playing anymore Emma! Just let go!" Regina shouted, both hands were on the stick now, her upper torso was raised off of the ground tensely holding herself up with the grasp on the stick. Emma was on top of her legs, never letting her able to move, or have a chance to escape. Her hands grasped the middle of the stick, trying to rip it from her 's face was only inches away from Emma's. Her green eyes reminded her of grassy fields, the wind blowing roughly through each blade, she could almost hear the sounds of the grass rustling. Emma tried jerking the stick towards her, and her reflexes kicked in. Her body tensed up, trying not to move, but the force of Emma grabbing the stick and pulling it towards her moved her to Emma's face.

Regina's eye shot wide open, as did Emma's. They stayed like that for a short while, until Regina pulled away, mouth gaping. Emma's head swung around, checking if anyone had seen. Her gaze returned to a shocked Regina, unable to move.

"what…"

"I'm sorry! I was just trying to.. to get the stick. I guess I just got too caught up on the game-"

"What happened!" Hook was jogging over now, as well as Belle and Rumple to see what all this commotion was about.

"Is everyone okay?" Belle asked, looking concerned.

Regina's eyes were still wide, her mouth slowly closed but the shock of what happened was still there.

It was Emma who was able to pull together a decent excuse.

"Yeah, I pulled the stick and we ended up bonking heads, I was just asking if she was okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

~five years later~

Regina checked the clock, 11:59pm. Her mother and father should be asleep by now, and Emma would be here any minute. Regina tip toed quietly around her room, getting her blue scarf and a pair of black boots from the closet. She also pulled out her long black coat, and a blue beanie. Regina scuddled to her mirror beside her closet to fix her hair and makeup, applying dark red lipstick to her full lips, and eye lash lengthening mascara to her lashes, finally, dark eyeliner. She looked over herself for one long good minute, checking if there was any major flaws in her appearance. Her cheeks were rosy red, her lips inviting, and her eyes held a mysterious look.

She looked fine, but a little magic would give her the glow she was looking for.

Tap

Regina ran over to her windowsill, lifting one of the side panels.

Emma Swan stood brilliantly in the moon light. Her red leather jacket hugged her body against the cold, and the black hat she wore looked as if her hair was alive, the gold curled locks lazily laying on her shoulders. She tossed a rock in the air, catching it with ease. Regina bit her lip, waving silently at her companion in the night. Regina carefully lifted herself out of the window, slowly putting her right leg outside, then her left. She pulled her torso through the sill, and finally her head made it. She sat carefully on the outside of her window sill, took a breath, and snapped her fingers. A purple smoke erupted from what looked to be out of no where, surrounding her black boots, lifting Regina up into the night sky. Emma watched, slightly tense. The sight of Regina in the air like that was breath taking, magic...was so breath taking. The smoke lowered Regina onto her front lawn carefully. With another snap of her fingers, the purple smoked disappeared, and she was left with Emma alone.

"Miss Swan… you look lovely." Regina smiled, her perfectly white teeth glimmered in the darkness. Emma questioned if it was just mischief she saw.

"Come on, we gotta go meet up with the guys. If we're late I told them to go without us, so we better get going."

The pair ran down the street, sticking to the shadows. This was the first night that Regina had ever snuck out of the house, and she wasn't entirely okay with it but this was the first night that all her senses had been on point. She could smell faint traces of perfume on Emma, she could see clearly into the night, she felt the cool night air caress her skin as they ran towards an old pick up truck parked at the side of the road with four teens standing around it.

Regina stopped running, and Emma slowed to match her pace. They had ran a few blocks away from Regina's home, so whispering was no longer an issue.

"Who's the fourth person in the group?" Regina could see the group laughing with this mysterious person. Belle's laugh rang throughout the night unmistakably.

"We decided to introduce you to more of the gang... Not that we didn't want to before! But well.. you were never really around to meet up with them."

"So who's them? I don't like surprises."

"Come on over and find out."

Regina sighed as she followed Emma to the pick up. Rumple was there, offering a nod in greetings. Belle ran to hug the both of them, and Hook gave Emma a kiss on the cheek and a quick hello to Regina. Regina raised an eyebrow towards Emma, but mouthed "later" Regina directed her attention to the fourth figure she had seen.

A young asian woman with long black hair stood in front of her. Her eyes were firm as they examined Regina. She wore thick laced boots, fitted jeans, and a black leather jacket with a grey hood. She didn't exactly scream welcoming, she thought. Emma popped in between the silence of the two.

"Regina, this is Mulan. She'll be giving us a ride tonight. Mulan, Regina. She doesn't get out much."

"It's nice to meet you. Ruby is meeting us at the pits tonight. Does she know just what you're getting her into?" Mulan nodded towards Regina.

"She'll find out when she gets there. Lets head out." Mulan turned and started for a small black car, Emma shrugged and followed, grabbing Regina's hand.

"So… you and Hook?"

Emma turned her head, staring after Mulan "He enjoys my company-"

"I enjoy your company, Belle enjoys your company, hell, Rumple probably enjoys your company or he'd have nothing to do with you. But Hook? No.. No you can't fool me Emma, there's something going on there."

"We'll talk about this later, we've got to catch up to Mulan, she's got probably a worse temper than you do."

Mulan revved the small black car's engine, and Emma jogged to the front passenger. Regina reluctantly opened the right rear passenger side, and slammed the door. Before she could look for a seat belt, Mulan was speeding down the road after Rumple's old pickup. Mulan turned up the radio and some sort of regular generic pop song played throughout the small speakers of the miniscule car. Emma and Mulan were obviously talking, but all Regina could make out were mumbles, and an odd word or two. She sighed, and watched the outside world from her window. The sky was clear, and the stars shone brightly in the night's sky. The houses turned into trees as the car drove further and further from group traveled like this for ten minutes until they pulled into a small gravel road. The brush was thick with lush greenery and dead plant life alike.

Mulan turned the radio finally, her eyes not wavering from the road ahead. "We're almost there, it shouldn't be long now."

The minutes that went by seemed like hours with how the trees felt like they were inclosing on the group. When the site of a giant bonfire illuminated the night, Regina knew this is where they were taking her. Mulan parked behind Rumple's truck, and didn't bother waiting for her passengers to get out the the car. The doors locked as soon as Emma and Regina had opened them, and Mulan was gone into the crowd of other teens who had snuck out. Emma waited for Regina to get out the car, and the pair met up with the group in the truck. Heavy house mixes pounded the air, so loud that Regina swore that the whole town would be able to hear it.

"Welcome to the Gateway!" Emma grinned, and led Regina into the crowd, after waving off to Hook and the others,

"So you wanted to take me to a stupid bonfire? You could have just asked."

Emma laughed, shaking her blonde curls. "It's not just the bonfire that makes this place special, you'll find out soon enough, but you have to meet Ruby! Ruby!"

In front of the crowd of people, was a tall brunette, with an unmistakable red hood. Her eyes were large and bright, decorated with dark makeup, and bright red lipstick that accented her mouth in a generous way. She bounced over to Emma embracing her quickly before redirecting her attention to Regina.

"I suppose your name is Ruby?"

"That it is, and your Regina if I'm not mistaken?"

"Emma's told you about me?"

"She has, actually, you're the whole reason for the bonfire tonight."

Regina looked towards Emma, who was blushing. "Is that so?" she crossed her arms, her foot tapped repeatedly on the dirt below her.

Ruby looked back and forth between the two for sometime, until she politely excused herself to join the rest of the party.

"So a whole party for me… What's the occasion?"

"It's hard to explain." Emma was fidgeting, her lips pressed tightly into a firm line. "It'd be easier to tell you if Rumple was here-"

"That I am deary! Now, how can I be of assistance?"

The pair jumped at his sudden appearance, the crowd was positively roaring with excitement, so it was only expected that they wouldn't be able to hear him come up.

"You need to tell her why she's here."

"You can talk to me you know, instead of talking about me like I'm not here."

Emma shook her head, "Right, right I'm sorry. This is just going to sound crazy, just, keep an open mind, okay?"

Rumple giggled,"You're going to want to listen up for this one!"

Regina narrowed her eyes at Rumple, took a breath, and nodded for Emma to continue. Emma cleared her throat, and began to tell a story that Regina would have rather had not heard.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rumple, Emma , and Regina had gathered a small ways from the party. The group sat in a clearing, the stars shining brightly overhead as a small breeze whistled through large pine trees. Emma paced back and forth in front of Regina who sat on a large rock. Rumple was giggling, leaning against a near tree.

"Alright well, now that you've brought me out into a potential murder scene, care to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Well, as I said, it's hard to explain. Just please, keep an open mind okay?"

Regina crossed her arms and sighed, cuing Emma on to continue

"Remember that time.. when we first met.. you fixed my jacket? I hopped over the fence, and it ripped, and I thought my mom was going to be so upset, but then, you waved your hand over it, and presto! It was fixed. Or tonight, when you snuck out, you summoned a cloud from god only knows where, and levitated yourself to the ground? How could you have done all that?"

"Magic-"sighed Regina.

"Of course!good! okay! So, you once told me that your Mom got you books-"

"Books from Rumpelstiltskin,"

"But we know Rumpelstiltskin is right here. "Rumple" is short for Rumpelstiltskin. So the question is, who is your Mom really getting these books from?"

"Why are you so concerned with Magic now, of all times?"

"She's getting to the best part! Best be quiet dearie!" Rumple chuckled, Emma continued.

"The Gateway isn't just called the Gateway because it's a place for everyone to get away from the town and let loose. There's something magical here, a portal to another place. We're not sure exactly how to open it, but we know we're going to need a lot of magic to get there. Rumple and the other's can only open it so far, but I think we need more power, we need you Regina. You're the most powerful kid we know, and we know for a fact with your help, we could find out where exactly this portal goes. So, what do you say? Will you help us?"

Regina closed her eyes, and took all of the information Emma had just told her into consideration. "It's entirely possible that there is a portal in the Gateway, but why do you want to open it?

Do you know where it leads, or what's on the other side? If there is someone my mother is getting books from that isn't actually Rumpelstiltskin, why do I care? I'm still getting my books."

"But what does that mean for Rumple?! Someone is going around claiming to be him, why would they do that? Didn't you find it weird that the person getting your books had the same name as our Rumple?!" Emma clenched her fists, and dug her heels into the earthy floor.

She would not be moved on what she knew was right.

"Rumple's name might be more common then we know. I mean, Emma isn't exactly a one of a kind name. Regina isn't either."

"Not to offend Rumple, but I've never heard anyone being called Rumpelstiltskin here, maybe that's the point though, maybe Rumple isn't from here. Mayne his home, is through that portal, and if it is, we have to get him back. He might have a family there looking for him!"

"Why should I care about getting him back? Rumple has never cared for me, not in the least!"

"She does have a point , I do not relatively enjoy Miss. Mills company. I believe that was obvious from the start."

"It's not about you all of the time! Sometime you actually have to give a shit about someone other than yourself! So please, if you don't want to help Rumple, help me."

A silence grew over the group, and Regina let out a small sigh. "Fine, I'll help. You owe me an explanation about Hook-"

"Later, I promise. But we don't have much time. We have to start getting ready. Once the sun comes up, we can open the portal, since we already missed 12am. We should probably get back."

Rumple had disappeared somewhere off into the darkness, leaving Regina and Emma alone. Emma tried to take a step, but Regina took her hand, keeping her grounded.

"Before I help you, I should probably know everything about this portal that you know."

"Well it isn't much, if that's what you're wondering. Only a few things so far. The first is that the portal opens at three times. The first when the sun is setting, the second being midnight, and the third being when the sun rises. We've tried to open it outside of those times, but it's too strong to get open. We know that it takes a lot of magic to even get a glimpse of what is on the other side. We've tried to open the portal dozens of times, but it fails everytime. The most that we've ever seen through the portal, is a small town and it was at night. The weird thing was, this was a portal we opened at sunrise."

"Who will be trying to open the portal with me?"

"It'll be you, Rumple, and Tink."

Regina pushed back her hair and inhaled. This would prove to be a challenge. She wasn't even sure that her magic would be enough, but she had to try. She followed Emma back to the bonfire, where there were setting up to open the portal.

The girl in the red hood was directing the entire show, telling kids where to draw what symbols in the dirt, and what posts needed to go where. Mulan was helping set up torches with another girl with long light brown hair, who seemed to be enjoying the girls company enough to smile. For the short amount of time she'd known Mulan, that seemed almost impossible for the girl, but there she was, laughing like a fool.

Emma led her towards the outlining in the circle, when she stepped near the outline, she could feel a powerful magical energy radiating. The examine the outlining carefully, noticing that the lines were carefully drawn, but simple so they were easy to draw and remember. There was a large circle, and inside, two overlapping triangles. The triangles were lined up near the base, so the fine points touched the inner part of the circle. Regina stood on the outside of this circle, where the bases were aligned. Rumple, who had appeared out of thin air again, stepped towards the right point of the triangle, and they one she assumed was "Tink" stood on the most left part of the triangle point. Tink had short blonde hair, and bright green eyes. she wore a simple green tank top, which showed her skinny airs, and long patched jeans. Tink was looking at her now, a stern expression on her face, looking towards Regina, nodding that she was ready. Regina turned to Rumple, who was examining his nails. He felt Regina's gaze, and met it. He too nodded that he was ready to do. Regina looked back at Emma, who looked more determined than anyone of them there.

She gave a silent nod, Emma cleared her throat.

"Okay everyone… Let's get this show on the road."


	6. Sub Chapter 1- Belle

*I feel like I need to start focusing more on the relationship between Belle and Rumple, so without further adieu, here's a nice little sub chapter for you folks at home.*

Subchapter - Belle

For as long as Belle could remember, Rumpelstiltskin was always there for her. Some saw him as a monster, others a bully. The first time she'd encountered Rumple, she might have thought that too, but the days events lead her to strongly believe that there was good in Rumple, and that good might one day shine through over the monster in which most people encountered. She recalled the day fondly, a dark, stormy day raining cats and dogs…

Thunder boomed above the frightened nine year old. She had gotten lost on an adventure far from home deep in the forest behind her home, and now she couldn't tell which way home was. She was lost in the woods, towering trees surrounded her as she was pelted with harsh cold that made her shiver violently. She must have wandered around for hours before he found her.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" He had questioned her, his eyes level and steady. A darkness seemed to swirl within them.

"I-I got lost, and now I don't know where I am. Can you help me get home?"

When she said this between sobs, he saw the darkness leave his eyes, and a small smile crept into his face.

"Why of course dearie, but it's going to cost about we make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"If I get you home, then you'll owe me a favour. Does that sound okay to you?"

Belle nodded, tears streaming down her face. Rumple knelt in front of her, trying to wipe her tears away. With a wave of his hand, a black umbrella appeared, and he handed it to the small brunette. Her eyes grew wide with shock, and a small laugh echoed through the woods. Rumple took her small hand with his own, and lead her through the forest.

"Are you a magician?" a small voice said. Rumple turned back to see her big eyes examining him with wonder.

"You might say that."

"Can you do anything?"

"Not everything."

"What can't you do?

"Not a lot."

"What's not a lot?"

"A few things."

"Oh…" she whispered, as Rumple helped her over a log. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen"

"You don't look that old, but why are you out here alone?"

"I was looking for someone."

"Who were you looking for?"

"Someone who was calling for help in the woods."

"Is there someone else in the woods?!" A terrified look to over her face, " We can't leave them here, we have to find them!"

"Don't you worry, I already have." Rumple chuckled, moving some brush away for Belle to walk through.

"You heard me yelling?"

"I did. I think we're almost back to your street."

It was true, if she squinted, she could see the shapes of houses and streets. The rain made it almost impossible for her to see anything. It had died down more than before however. So much so that she could see the figures waiting ahead of her. She clutched Rumple's hand in fear.

"Do you see them?"

Rumple looked ahead, and nodded. "You should stay here, dearie. I don't think they want to play."

"Okay, but are you going to be okay all by yourself?"

"They won't hurt you, and I should be fine. Hide behind this tree, and wait for me to come back and get you. If I don't, just keep heading straight, and you should find the road.

Belle nodded and hugged him. His body was tense, but he patted her back in comfort. He walked forward, and Belle hid behind a tree with her black umbrella.

She couldn't hear anything except the heavy rain coming down on her umbrella. She would have to make sure that she returned it when the rain stopped. She peeped out from the side of the tree, and she could see a small group of boys talking to the older boy who had been so nice to help her. One boy lunged at him, and before he could touch the older boy, her kicked him in the gut. The boy keeled over, and still the older boy beat him, after he pleased them to stop.

She couldn't sit there and watch anymore. Belle dropped her umbrella, and raced over to him. Rumple pulled on another boy's shirt, and raised him in the air, striking his face over and over again.

"Stop! Please stop!" tears rushing down her face, "Stop! That's enough!"

"No, it isn't" Rumple spoke shortly, pounding the boy in the face again. The other boys had scrambled away, leaving their friend to fend for himself.

"He needs to know, that if he wants to try and pick on innocent people, to try and mess with me, that there is most definitely a price."

"He didn't know! He couldn't have known! please, just leave him."

Rumple looked long and hard at the beaten boy, and slowly his fingers released the fabric of his shirt. the boy dropped to the ground breathing heavily.

"You better start running, before I change my mind."

The boy shrieked, and wobbled away as quickly as he could.

"Thank you." She whispered, walking along the trail, continuing the journey home. Rumple stood in the rain for sometime watching as Belle walked ahead. He watched as she turned around and smiled, "Aren't you coming?"

The boy looked down, and smirked. He followed the girls trail and took her hand when she held it out.

"How did you know I would stop?" He mumbled, half not wanting to hear what this girl had to say.

"Because there is good in you, you're just hiding it away."

Rumple opened his mouth to say something, but he was at a lack for words.

"My name's Belle." She looked up, smiling at the older boy, a smile lighting up her face.

"Rumple, and it's an honour to be meeting you."

This was the night she was going to help open the Gateway to help Rumple. To everyone else, he seemed unbothered that someone was stealing his name, but she knew the truth. She knew the true horrors it held for Rumple, and what it could mean to have his own family to go back to. He had been living in a foster home next to hers on her street for a long time, and to any child who didn't know they're parents, anyone who was orphaned, and anyone who was lost.

Ruby had instructed her to find some plants for the opening of the portal. Apparently magical plants grew in the area that would help give the spell a power boost when they would cast it. Since Belle had a love for books, she had some idea which plants that she needed to collect. With the leather bound book under her arm, she explored the forest floor looking for such planation. When she heard footsteps falling behind her, Belle did not panic. She heard they way the shoes strolled across the forest floor so many times before. The hesitation in the steps was always the same.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the spell Rumple?"

"I've got plenty of time dearie"

Rumple lightly wrapped his arms around her waist, and sat his chin on her head. Belle was now fourteen years old, and Rumple was still his fifteen year old self. No one had noticed his inability to age except for Belle, but when She'd brought it up to Emma and the other's the investigation had began.

"Can I help you find what you're looking for?"

Belle smiled, taking the book from under her arm carefully. She opened the book in front of both of them, flipping through the pages exposing her knowledge. Her fingers trailed along a picture of a flower with red petals, the steam being a brilliant blue.

"This plant will help give an extra boost to the spell, so it won't put so much strain on yourself, Regina, and Tink."

"Belle-"

"We'll open the Gateway this time! I know we will. Don't start doubting us now." She turned around to face him. The moonlight lit up his face, his eyes soft when he looked at her. Rumple sighed as he brushed her hair behind her ear, and stroked her cheek delicately.

"Of course we will, but if we don't-"

"Don't isn't even an option, not for you."

"Yes it is. Belle I don't want to get my hopes up, just to have them crushed. If we don't open the portal tonight, than it is probably for the best."

Belle moved his hands off her waist and cheek to hold them, entwining her fingers with in her own.

"Belle, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

She looked at him, her eyes bright and only on him. He smiled, thinking just how beautiful they were.

"Belle I want to thank you. You've always only seen the good in me, when other would only focus on the bad. I don't know why that you've done that for so long, but it's brought out the goodin me that I thought I'd lost."

He moved her hair to lay a simple kiss on her forehead, "Thank you Belle."

The young brunette blushed, a face consuming smile absorbed her face. She knew, without words, that her love that she felt with Rumple were returned. When he leaned down to claim her lips, fireworks erupted between them both as the kiss progressed. She felt Rumple's hand mix in with her hair, and her arms being thrown over his shoulders, deepening the kiss. They stayed like that for a long time, but just as simply as it started, it ended, their foreheads bowed together.

Below them formed the exact flower that Belle had been looking for, it's petals sparkling with a crimson colour, the blue stem resembling a great glittering lake. Was the flower a sign of hope, or a sign of the great perils to come.


End file.
